THE PEACE-MAKERS. 



A SERMON 



PREACHED IN THE TENTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA, ON 

SUNDAY, APRIL 9, 18G5, ArrOINTED BY TnE GOVERNOR OF 

PENNSYLVANIA AS A DAY OF THANKSGIVING FOR THE 

RECENT VICTORIES OF THE NATIONAL FORCES 

IN VIRGINIA. 



HENRY A. BOARDMAN, D. D. 



PHILADELPHIA : 

JAMES S. CLAXTON, 

SUCCESSOR TO WILLIAM S. & ALFRED MABTIEN, 
No. 606 Chestnut Street. 

1865. 



. .5 



Philadelphia, May 8, 1865. 
To the Rev. Henry A. Boardman, D. D. 

Rev. and Dear Sir— You will confer a favor on us, if you will permit the publication of 
the Discourse delivered by you in your church on the morning of the 9th ult. 
We think that its publication at this time will be useful. 
Very truly and respectfully, 

R. C. GRIER, 
JAMES THOMPSON, 
R. PATTERSON, 
D. HAYES AGNEW, 
JAMES SCHOTT, 
W. C. PATTERSON, 
JAMES ROSS SNOWDEN, 
WM. A. PORTER, 
WM. B. HIESKELL. 
JOSEPH PATTER.-' i\, 
THEODORE CDYLER, 
H. L. SPROAT, 
HENRY McKAY, 
ROBERT n. McGRATH, 
SAMUEL HOOD. 



Philadelphia, May 9, 1865. 
Gentlemen — Your kind note has taken me by surprise. The sermon for which you ask, 
was a sermon of Th \nksgiving. In less than a week after it was preached, our thanks- 
givings were turned into mourning. In the presence of our great national calamity — one 
of the greatest, in my opinion, which could have befallen our country— might it not be 
deemed unseasonable to publish a discourse prepared for so widely different an occasion? 
Your request shows that you do not think so. And if I defer to your judgment, it will 
be (inter alia) because of the absolute assurance I feel, that the aim and spirit and counsels 
of this sermon are in perfect accordance with the sentiments daily expressed by trar de- 
ceased President during the closing weeks of bis life. There was nothing his heart was so 
much set upon, as the early and thorough pacification of the country; and the magnani- 
mous temper in which he had set about it, was hailed by the nation at large as a pledge 
that he would omit nothing which might contribute to this beneficent result. Even then, 
however, a true peace could have been established only through the benign influence of 
our holy religion. This was the radical idea of the sermon you desire to publish, and 
which I herewith place in your hands. The subject is presented in these pages in a very 
partial and cursory way. Believing as I do that it is the grand necessity of our times, I 
hope in a few days to invite you to a further and fuller consideration of it. 
With respect and esteem, I am very truly yours, 

HENRY A. BOARDMAX 
To the Hon. Robert C. Grier, 

Hon. James Thompson, and others. 



SERMON. 



Matthew v. 9. 



BLESSED ARE THE PEACE-MAKERS : FOR THEY SHALL 1)14 OALLED THE 
CHILDREN OF GOD. 

On the last Sabbath your attention was called to 
one of this rich cluster of "Beatitudes;" and it 
now falls in my way to speak to you of another. 
To some of you, the theme may present itself as in 
strange contrast with the scenes through which we 
are passing; while others may regard it rather as 
blending with these scenes and foreshadowing the 
issue to which they are tending. In either case, 
the reflection will be apt to force itself upon you, 
How immutable is the word of God! The uni- 
versal law of earth, is change. With individuals, 
families, states, dynasties, there is nothing uniform, 
nothing permanent. Mutability attaches to all the 
works of man, even the most stable. Opinions, 
philosophies, policies, are perpetually varying. The 
Bible alone is unchangeable. Events make no 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 

impression upon it. It imbibes no coloring from 
surrounding objects. It sways not an iota to the 
tides of human interest and passion. The turbulent 
billows of strife and violence break over it ; but it 
stands firm like a granite rock amidst the waves 
of the sea. In cloud and in sunshine, in peace 
and in war, it speaks in the same calm, clear, 
authoritative tone, uttering the same immortal 
truths, and challenging, under penalty of anathema, 
the paramount and reverential attention of every 
human being. For "the word of the Lord endureth 
forever." 

If this be so, then there can be no real incon- 
gruity between the benediction before us, and the 
times which are passing over us ; that is to say, 
this benediction, true at all times, must be true 
now ; and, suited to all seasons, must be suited to 
the present. " Blessed are the peace-makers, for 

THEY SHALL BE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF GOD." 

I would not have you infer from these remarks 
that I design to treat this passage exclusively in 
its adaptation to our public affairs. This is not 
my purpose : albeit I shall not decline that use of 
it altogether. It has a lesson for all periods and 
for all persons. 

The crowd that first listened to these words was 
composed of Jews. They were imbued with an 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 7 

hereditary enmity to the Gentiles. They were 
expecting their Messiah, whenever he came, to 
lead them forth against their pagan oppressors. 
The wrongs of centuries were to be redressed, and 
all nations to kiss the sceptre of David. But a 
widely different doctrine was that which now saluted 
their ears; one which rebuked no less the revengeful 
passions of the multitude, than the pride and hypoc- 
risy of their ecclesiastical teachers. Their Messiah 
had come. And, true to his prophetic character, he 
came as the "Prince of Peace." But it was not 
such a peace as they coveted, nor to be achieved in 
their way. 

" Blessed are the Peace-makers." Who are the 
Peace-makers ; and the blessing pronounced upon 
them : — these are the points which invite our notice. 
I shall treat them in a very familiar and informal 
way. 

It has just been intimated that the Messiah came 
to establish a kingdom of peace. His grand design 
was to restore peace between God and man. And 
in doing this, he laid the foundation for peace of 
conscience, and peace between man and man. It is 
only one branch of this fruitful subject that is men- 
tioned in the text. But it is apparent that he who 
would be a peace-maker must be a man of a peaceful 
spirit. He must love peace; love it, not simply 



8 THE PEACE-MAKERS. 

because it is commanded, but because it is right in 
itself. It must have an attraction for him. His 
heart must be in sympathy with it. And it will be, 
if he has drank in freely of the spirit of the Gospel. 
For the essence of the Gospel is, " On earth peace, 
good-will towards men." This was the substance 
of the Saviour's preaching; this the tenor of his 
example ; this the end for which he endured the 
cross. And this is the proper evidence and badge 
of discipleship. It ought to be assumed as a matter 
of course, that a Christian is a man of peace. 

Such a man will try to live at peace with others. 
The exhortation is, "Follow peace with all men." 
"Follow" it; though the same apostle elsewhere 
intimates that it may not be always attainable. "If 
it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peace- 
ably with all men." I may notice this limitation 
hereafter. For the present, there are certain things 
looking in the direction of peace, which are " pos- 
sible," and, therefore, are obligatory. One of these, 
is to exercise great care about giving offence. 

To "follow peace," we must "follow after the 
things which make for peace." He fails in this, 
who neglects to set a close watch upon his lips. 
" He that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mis- 
chief." "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, 
keepeth his soul from troubles." "Afrowardman 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 9 

soweth strife, and a whisperer separateth chief 
friends." Not to guard one's speech, is to contemn 
" the things which make for peace." That the peace 
should be so often broken, can excite no surprise, 
when it is considered how much rash talking there 
is; how much malicious talking; how much thought- 
less talking. Offence must needs be given : there 
is no help for it — where the tongue is under no 
restraint. 

A peaceable man will be heedful of the tempers 
and circumstances of the persons he has to deal 
with. We might wish it otherwise, but the world 
is very full of people with untoward peculiarities. 
In the course of a single day you may encounter 
such varieties as the morose, the officious, the 
desponding, the deceitful, the suspicious, the irrita- 
ble, the revengeful, the capricious, and the prying. 
Many whose dispositions are really amiable, are 
afflicted with very unamiable nerves, which grate 
harsh music both for themselves and others. And 
there are a very few only, who are entirely exempt 
from moods which make them unduly sensitive to 
inadvertent affronts or slights. 

To consider these infirmities, is one of the cha- 
racteristics of a man of peace. Not that they are 
all of a nature to merit his forbearance. But in 
general he will keep in mind the temper and mood 



10 THE PEACE-MAKERS. 

of the persons he meets; and show their weaknesses 
as much indulgence as a good conscience will 
permit. To play upon people's weaknesses; to tease 
them because they can be teased; and incense them 
because they are passionate ; and mortify them be- 
cause they are vain; and cajole them because they are 
suspicious; — this may sometimes afford an evanescent 
satisfaction, but it is a malicious satisfaction. No 
Peace-maker could countenance it. Such an one will 
find no pleasure in helping to make others unhappy, 
even though their own tempers be chiefly responsible 
for it. A humane man will not lightly apply a match 
to a magazine: there are too many incendiaries about 
already. He will much sooner stretch forth his hand 
to shield the train than fire it. 

But we cannot enter into details. Let it suffice, 
that a man of peace will endeavor to give his neigh- 
bor no just ground of offence. And, reciprocally, he 
will be slow to take offence. This imports that he 
will guard against such infirmities of temper as those 
we have been speaking of. We may insist upon the 
duty of treating them with a generous forbearance. 
But what right have you to cherish them! Why 
should you be so sensitive — so jealous — so petulant — 
so churlish — so obstinate — so uncharitable'? No one 
can deny that these are very unchristian tempers. 
They cause a large part of the heartburnings, the 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 11 

alienations, the contentions, that occur among men. 
It is as much our duty to be slow in taking offence, 
as to be cautious about giving offence. A Peace- 

# 

maker will respect the obligation in both its aspects. 

But we may " suffer wrongfully" — where we have 
neither been over-sensitive to affronts, nor done 
aught to provoke an injury. This, unfortunately, is 
a common case. It is a sore trial to flesh and blood. 
Nature cannot well cope with it. 13ut grace will 
come to the rescue. A Christian in these circum- 
stances may take the needful steps to vindicate his 
character; for he cannot but feel keenly the injustice 
that is done him. But if he be animated by the Spirit 
of Christ, he will stifle the promptings of revenge ; and 
try to overcome evil with good. For so his Master 
taught, both by precept and example. Why should 
any Christian marvel that he suffers from the tongue 
of calumny, when he recalls the history of his Lord'? 

If these observations be well-founded, they show 
that men become Peace-makers in just so far as they 
imbibe the spirit of genuine religion. They have an 
essentially peaceful temper. Their principles, their 
teachings, their aims, their conduct, all go to pro- 
mote peace. They carry with them a silent but im- 
pressive remonstrance against the dispositions and 
practices which tend to produce strife. Their lives 
are a rebuke to the malevolent passions which agi- 



12 THE PEACE-MAKERS. 

tate the masses. Cautious about giving or taking 
offence, where they have a difference with others, 
they are forward in seeking to have it removed. 
They are willing to accept the Saviour's rule as it 
stands, "If thou rememberest that thy brother hath 
aught against thee .... go and be reconciled to thy 
brother." It may cost a struggle to do this; for 
pride and passion would hold them back. But it 
would be a harder struggle not to do it. They 
cannot sleep with a quiet conscience, until they have 
taken all suitable measures to win back an alienated 
brother. If the effort fails, as it may, they can only 
leave the matter in the hands of God. The sin lies 
not at their door. 

In the same temper they strive to compose divi- 
sions among others. These divisions frequently 
originate in some trifling incident — a hasty word; an 
oversight; the tattle of a busy-body; at most, a mis- 
apprehension. As regards Christians, it would be 
safe to assert that nine-tenths of the estrangements 
which occur among them, grow out of some misap- 
prehension. When the mischief has once taken 
place, they lack the humility or the resolution to 
seek an explanation; and so the trouble grows, as 
neglected weeds always grow, until the insignificant 
thorn-bush becomes a brawny Upas. What they 
need now is a Peace-maker — some discreet, large- 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 13 

hearted Christian, to mediate between them. And 
with such a days-man, how many alienated friends 
have been restored to each others arms. 

It must not be inferred from these observations, 
that peace — our own or that of others — is to be 
sought at all hazards, and at any sacrifice. It is a 
blessing of very great value; but we must not sacri- 
fice things of still greater value to secure it. The 
apostle glances at this in the expression already 
quoted, "If it be possible, live peaceably with all 
men." It is not always "possible." For we must 
heed the voice of duty. We must follow wherever 
truth and right lead the way. And this will some- 
times expose us to obloquy and contention. It was 
in this view, our Saviour said, " I came not to send 
peace on earth, but a sword ;" and he goes on to pre- 
dict the bitter feuds which the gospel would occasion 
in households. But would any one say, that Christ 
was not the Friend of peace'? or that he should have 
suppressed His doctrines, because he foresaw that bad 
men would make them a pretext for assailing his dis- 
ciples'? We are not to shrink from duty, even 
though it may offend those whom it would grieve us 
to offend. A good conscience in forming our 
opinions, and, on all proper occasions, asserting them, 
must be preserved at whatever cost in respect to our 
friendships, or our social and professional advantages. 



14 THE PEACE-MAKERS. 

While this maxim is of general obligation, it ap- 
plies with peculiar force to religious convictions. 
Christianity is a religion of peace; but it is still 
more a religion of truth and holiness, — these in order 
to that. " The wisdom which is from above is first 
pure, then peaceable." To hold back the truth, as 
the pulpit has so often done, may promote peace; 
but it will be the treacherous calm which precedes 
shipwreck. Neither as ministers nor as private 
Christians, may we fail to declare what we believe 
to be the whole counsel of God. Times and modes 
are to be regarded. And we must be mindful of the 
tone and temper of our own hearts. But firmly, 
prudently, charitably, and faithfully, we must set 
forth the truth. If this lead to disputation, it will 
be no fault of our's. Jesus Christ was of old, and he 
is still, "a stumbling-block to the Jew, and to the 
Greek foolishness." Are his friends answerable for 
the dissensions which may follow the preaching of 
Christ crucified'? Is it they who disturb the peace 
of the Church'? Far from it. It is the formalists, 
who will not endure the truth. It is the bigots, who 
arrogate a monopoly of the truth, and hand over all 
who are outside of their own narrow pale to " un- 
covenanted mercy." It is the teeming tribes of 
errorists, with and without their sectarian organiza- 
tions, who reject the Bible or deny some of its 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 15 

• 

essential doctrines. These all are, in their measure, 
responsible for the discord that prevails in the reli- 
gious world. Very desirable it is to allay this strife: 
it is the standing opprobrium of the Church of Christ. 
But it may not be allayed at the cost of the truth. 
The truth is not our's to barter away. And if bar- 
tered, it would fail of its end. For there is no real 
peace except through the truth. And the only Peace- 
makers entitled to the benediction of the Saviour, 
are those who "buy the truth and sell it not;" who 
will, if needful, "contend earnestly for the faith once 
delivered to the saints;" and who will diligently use 
the word of God to win back an offended brother, to 
reconcile divided friends, and to replace the harsh 
polemics of the Church with Christian love and con- 
cord. 

But there is still another sphere for the sympathy 
and care of the Peace-makers, which you will not 
expect me to pass by in silence. It is too broad a 
subject to be discussed within the brief limits 
allotted to the remainder of this service : but a few 
thoughts may be thrown out for your consideration. 

The Peace-makers are the true, spiritual disciples 
of Christ. They are in and of the Church. They 
represent the Church. As a matter of order, then, 
we may refer to them in the aggregate, and consider 
the Church in its character of Pacificator. That 



16 THE PEACE-MAKERS. 

• 

this is its proper character, no one will deny who 
has ever read the New Testament. 

What, then — to come at once to the question that 
lies just now in every one's bosom — is the true 
function of the Church in respect to war ? 

I answer, its function is threefold: 

(1.) If possible, to prevent war. 

(2.) If this be unavoidable, to attemper and miti- 
gate it. 

And (3.) to do whatever may be lawful and right, 
to bring war to an end, and to restore a just, humane, 
and Christian peace. 

1. The Church is, if possible, to prevent war. 
This is involved in its nature and design. Its mis- 
sion, like that of its Divine Founder, is to deliver 
men from sin ; and to fill the earth with holiness 
and happiness. It must needs, then, discountenance 
war. For war brings in its train every form of sin 
and every type of sorrow. There is, perhaps, no 
word in human language of such comprehensive and 
fatal significance; none which comprises such an 
accumulation of wrong and suffering. That Chris- 
tianity should be opposed to war, is a thing of 
course. Many readers of the New Testament un- 
derstand it as forbidding even defensive war; and 
that, under any circumstances. Nearly four years 
ago I gave you the reasons why I could not acquiesce 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 17 

in that view. But, assuredly, all the teachings of 
the New Testament, and the whole tone and genius 
of Christianity, are adverse to any war unless it be 
strictly defensive. If its lessons were universally 
received, war would be an impossible thing, — the 
more so, as it lays the axe at the root of the evil, 
by subduing the passions in which war usually 
originates. 

Whether the Church did its whole duty in trying 
to prevent the war which has desolated our country, 
will be a question for the historian. And yet, need 
we await his decision % Is it not patent to all the 
world, that if Christianity had had its just ascend- 
ancy amongst us, this conflict would have been 
averted'? Had the pulpit and the (so-called) re- 
ligious press, North and South, to name no other 
agencies, steadfastly inculcated those great lessons 
of obedience to law and magistracy, of truth and 
justice, of humanity and kindness, of forbearance 
and conciliation, which belong to the rudiments of 
the Scripture morality, this contest could never 
have happened. The land would have been saved 
this great crime of rebellion, and the untold horrors 
it has brought with it. That topic, however, is not 
before us, except in an incidental way. 

2. When war actually exists, it devolves upon the 
Church, — composed as it is of those who are by 
2 



18 THE PEACE-MAKERS. 

profession Peace-makers, to do all that it can to 
limit and mitigate its evils. 

The inherent tendency of war is to barbarity. 
Unleashing as it does the strongest passions of the 
human heart, and setting men to destroy each other, 
it is scarcely to be wondered at, that uncivilized 
tribes should conduct their wars less like men than 
fiends. It must be claimed on behalf of the Chris- 
tian religion, that it has greatly modified the ferocity 
of war. Many of its worst devices are professedly 
abandoned by Christian nations : and if practised, 
are practised in derogation of the recognized code 
of Christendom. 

It will be readily admitted, too, that the Church 
has not been idle during this unhappy contest in 
our country. Its noble activity in providing sup- 
plies and contributing to the comfort of the sick 
and wounded, friends and foes alike, has elicited the 
merited applause of the civilized world. It is a 
sublime triumph of the beneficent spirit of the 
Gospel, this ministration of mercy, on a colossal 
scale, to the sufferers of the war. Here, at least, 
hate has given place to love ; and the Peace-maker 
has found his congenial task, in binding up the 
wounds of combatants struck down by each other's 
hands. 

Yet it would not be difficult to show, that there 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 19 

are grave omissions and even transgressions to be 
laid to the account of the Church, as well during 
the progress of the war as before it commenced. 
Let this topic be waived, however, for one that is 
more grateful. 

3. It was specified as another function of the 
Church, to exert its influence in bringing war to an 
e?id, and establishing a just and stable peace. 

It is not to attempt this by arraying itself against 
the State. Civil government is a Divine ordinance. 
It is this which makes rebellion not simply a politi- 
cal offence, but a sin against God. And all factious 
opposition to government bears the taint of crimin- 
ality. The State is, within its legitimate sphere, 
entitled to the moral support of the Church ; pre- 
cisely as the Church may claim the protection of the 
State. In respect to particular measures or magis- 
trates, it is the privilege (in a free commonwealth) 
and may be the duty, of the citizen, to seek by the 
use of the prescribed means, to bring about a change. 
But he may do nothing, especially in the presence 
of a great rebellion, wilfully to embarrass the 
government in re-establishing its authority. His 
obligation as a Peace-maker binds him to promote 
whatever measures may be best adapted to insure 
an early and righteous peace. And it certainly 
requires of him, that he be importunate in pleading 



20 THE PEACE-MAKERS. 

with the " God of peace" on behalf of his afflicted 
country. 

These obvious principles have been recognized, 
though not to their full extent, in the conflict from 
which we seem at length to be emerging. The 
peace for which so many prayers have gone up to 
God, and so many anxious hearts have been yearn- 
ing, appears to be dawning upon us. The honoured 
Chief Magistrate of our Commonwealth (who, as I 
learn, has just gone on another of his visits of 
sympathy to our wounded soldiers in Richmond*), 
has invited the people to unite this day " in render- 
ing thanks to Almighty God for all his mercies, and 
especially for that he hath been graciously pleased 
to look favorably on us, and make us the instru- 
ments to establish the right, to vindicate the prin- 
ciples of free government, and to prove the certainty 
of Divine justice." 

The response to this appeal will be general and 
cordial. Not only in this State, but throughout all 
the free States, the voice of praise and gratitude 
will resound to-day. On thousands of altars will 
sacrifices of thanksgiving be offered to the God of 
our fathers. There is cause for thanksgiving. Four 

( rovemor Curtin's generous concern for the sick and wounded Penn- 
sylvania soldiers throughout the whole war, have won for him the lasting 
gratitude of our Commonwealth. 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 21 

years ago, on the Sabbath after the attack upon Fort 
Sumter,* it fell to my lot to address you in this 
place. May I be allowed to quote a few sentences 
from the sermon delivered on that occasion — a ser- 
mon which (as I find) contains no thought nor word 
1 should care to alter to-day. "As yet we only feel 
the spray of the billows breaking at our feet. But 
the storm is raging off the shore, and the tide is 
swelling, and it threatens to pour itself before long 
in fury over the land. It is not for man to say 
whether it shall be arrested. ... It may not accord 
with the Divine plan that we should escape this 
conflict. But we may plead with Him that if war 
must come, it may be shorn of those atrocities which 
are the proverbial characteristic of civil wars. We 
may further plead with Him, to bring it to a speedy 
end. It is horrible that there should be war at all : 
a protracted war among brethren would embosom 
all the curses which have followed in the train of 
sin. No tongue may attempt to depict, no imagina- 
tion to conceive of its horrors. Let us pray that its 
time may be short." 

These prophetic apprehensions have all been re- 
alized. The war came. Instead of ending in a few 
weeks or months, it has lasted four years. And as 
to its "horrors," they have even exceeded all that 

' April 21, 1861. 



22 THE PEACE-MAKERS. 

was then predicted. What occasion can there be to 
recount them] Have they not been the burden of 
our daily journals; of our public assemblies; of 
every social gathering ; of all households, and of all 
hearts'? Is there any family that has not been made 
sick and sad in rehearsing the calamities of this 
war'? Is there any congregation where its thunder- 
bolts have not fallen, and laid the brave, the true- 
hearted, the loved and honored, in the dust ? Four 
years of fratricidal strife! Four years of carnage! 
Four years of prisons and hospitals and graves! 
Four years of ever accumulating widowhood and 
orphanage ! 

Oh, beloved, while we mingle our tears with the 
mourners, we have cause for thanksgiving to-day. 
We must and will rejoice that the citadel of this 
great revolt is conquered, and its power broken. 
We must and will be thankful to God, that the sys- 
tem of servitude which nurtured the passions that 
inspired the rebellion, is passing away. That it 
must fall, became apparent on the morning of the 
12th of April, 1861. The first gun fired at Sum- 
ter was its death-knell. How it was to be brought 
about, it was not for man to say: but there were 
those who felt (as I certainly did) that the issue was 
then and there determined. 

In a published sermon preached here fifteen years 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 23 

ago, it was said : " I have never set myself to defend 
slavery; and by the grace of God I never will. I 
concur in the estimate which is put upon it by the 
people of the North, and by tens of thousands of our 
(Southern countrymen, that it is a colossal evil ; and 
that no consummation is more devoutly to be wished 
and prayed for than its removal." And now its 
" removal" has come. Not in a way which any one 
then living could have anticipated. Not in the way 
which many amongst us believed would be ' the 
wisest and best way — either for the master or the 
slave, for the government or the people. But the vast 
stream of Providence rolls on regardless of men's plans 
and opinions; and he who will not yield to the cur- 
rent, must be swept away by it. God's purpose is 
accomplished. The African race is emancipated; and 
the land redeemed from the taint of slavery. For this 
let us offer our thanksgivings to God. But if there 
should be thoughtful Christian men who "rejoice 
with trembling," let your charity bear with their 
weakness. They only wait to see the result of this 
stupendous revolution. The abrupt and violent en- 
franchisement of four millions of ignorant slaves, is 
an event to which history supplies but one parallel. 
That transaction was under immediate and palpable 
supernatural direction: and even then it cost forty 
years of painful discipline, and the lives of an entire 



24 THE PEACE-MAKERS. 

generation to bring the vast scheme to a successful 
issue. Let us pray that the Pillar of cloud and of 
tire may reappear for our guidance. If it should, 
and we have grace to follow it, this will prove a glo- 
rious deliverance for both races. But if we are left 
to the counsels of a mere mortal wisdom, it may one 
day turn the rejoicing of the land into mourning. 
It is both our duty and our privilege to hope for an 
auspicious result — auspicious for the black race, 
auspicious for the white race, auspicious for our 
country, and for our common Christianity. 

But to avert the evils which may still threaten us, 
and secure the advantages that may be within our 
reach, we must invoke an agency which the wisdom 
of this world has sometimes held in light esteem. 
" Blessed are the Peace-makers !" It is the pro- 
vince of the government to enforce the laws, to sup- 
press insurrection, to bring back revolted States to 
their allegiance, and to reestablish the authority of 
the Constitution throughout all the land. So dear 
are these objects to the hearts of the people, that 
they have counted no sacrifice too great for the 
accomplishment of them. They have surrendered 
freely their property, their business, their domestic 
ties. They have poured out their life's blood like 
water. And in our thanksgivings to-day we may 
not forget, that, under God, we owe the redemption 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 25 

of our imperilled heritage to the patriotism and 
courage, the skill and endurance, the toils and suf- 
ferings, of our army and navy. Thanks be to God 
for the favor with which he has crowned them, and 
for the events we chronicle to-day. 

But when the government has finished its task, 
and the sword is sheathed, and the turmoil of war is 
hushed, there will remain a work to be done which 
no statesmanship nor valor can effect. The arrest of 
fighting is not peace. The only peace that will avail 
to us, is one that penetrates below the surface. To 
allay the resentments of this war, to lull to sleep its 
fiery passions, to restore mutual respect and esteem, 
and thus renew an actual, not a mere formal, Union, 
— here is an achievement which, to any eye but that 
of faith, must seem impossible except as by a sort of 
miracle. Whether it is to be, is known only to 
Omniscience. But our duty is plain. 

The hour has come for the Church to prove her 
loyalty, not to Csesar simply, but to her own and 
Caesar's Lord: to show whether she has been bap- 
tized with the Spirit of Christ, or with the spirit of 
the world. A broad field is before her; and her 
Master summons her to a lofty mission. Will she 
call down fire from heaven to consume the wrong- 
doers, or will she go to them and bind up their 
wounds'? Will she climb to the top of Gerizim with 



26 THE PEACE-MAKERS. 

her mouth filled with blessings; or will she stand 
upon Ebal and utter curses from the rising of the 
sun to the going down thereof? Some who not only 
claim to be her sons but minister at her altars, have 
within the past week made the air ring with male- 
dictions which took the thoughts irresistibly to that 
scene, where a guiltless sufferer cried with his last 
breath, "Father, forgive them: for they know not 
what they do !" One cannot but believe that if He 
had been present on an occasion of this sort, he 
would have turned to his vindictive followers, and 
mildly said, " Ye know not what manner of spirit ye 
are of: for the Son of man is not come to destroy 
men's lives, but to save them." Is there anything 
in the plaudits of a delirious crowd, that could soothe 
the pain of such a rebuke from those lips 1 

We may take a lesson even from the rigorous 
economy of the Old Testament. When the tribe of 
Benjamin had committed a grievous crime, the other 
tribes assembled a powerful army and marched 
against them. Twice were the allies defeated, losing 
in one battle 22,000 men, and in the other 18,000. 
In the third conflict, they succeeded. Benjamin lost 
25,000 troops. Only six hundred survived, and the 
tribe seemed about to become extinct. What course 
did the other tribes adopt? The provocation they 
had received, was immense: 40,000 of their people 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 27 

had been slain — enough to fill the land with mourn- 
ing. A single blow would exterminate the small 
remnant of the offending tribe. Passion would have 
prompted it. But natural affection, piety, and 
patriotism, forbade. Instead of extirpation, there 
occurred a scene which would have shed lustre even 
upon the brightest epoch in the annals of Christianity. 
"The people came to the house of God, and abode 
there till even before God, and lifted up their voices 
and wept sore; and said, O Lord God of Israel, why 
is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to- 
day one tribe lacking in Israel?" (Judges xxi. 2, 3.) 
An injured and suffering nation, in the flush of vic- 
tory, while yet mourning their own dead, come 
together to weep over the terrible but righteous 
retribution they had visited upon their brethren, and 
to plead with their covenant God to preserve the 
tribe from extinction. There was a moral sublimity 
in the spectacle enough almost to move a heart of 
stone. 

And what less can we do] Can there be a Chris- 
tian here who is willing that a tribe should die out 
of our Israel? God forbid. He has forbidden it. 
What means this long delay of victory] Why has 
He kept us waiting through these four weary years, 
and tried us with so many reverses and sorrows, if 
not to teach us a lesson of deep contrition for our 



28 THE PEACE-MAKERS. 

sins ; to press home upon our hearts the conviction, 
that His controversy was no less with us than with 
our brethren; to chasten the exultation of our day 
of triumph ; and to bring us into a state of mind in 
which we might offer the petition, without invoking 
his anathema upon our own souls, " Forgive us our 
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against 
us"? He who cannot read these lessons, running 
through every page of these mournful annals, is 
blind. 

I am not speaking, let it be noted, of the magis- 
tracy of the land. I meddle not with the high ques- 
tions which the suppression of the rebellion may 
force upon the attention of the government. What 
justice may demand at the hands of our rulers; what 
mercy may claim; what a sound policy may dictate, — 
these are points which I am content to leave where 
the Constitution and laws have lodged them. My 
business as an unworthy minister of the Gospel, is 
not with the government, but with individuals; and 
not, primarily, with the world, but with the Church. 
I speak of what concerns Christian men in their 
private capacity, when I say that it behooves them to 
repress in themselves and discountenance in others 
all malevolent feelings. Let us not mar the truth 
and purity of our thanksgivings to God, by blending 
with them imprecations upon our misguided country- 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 29 

men. Have they not plucked down upon themselves 
a ruin so awful that even in the ends of the earth 
every one's ears that hears of it shall tingle"? Is not 
the whole South a desolation ? "A voice of wailing 
is heard: 'How are we spoiled! we are greatly con- 
founded, because we have forsaken the land, because 
our dwellings have cast us out. For death is come 
up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, 
to cut off the children from without, and the young 
men from the streets !' " "All her beauty is departed: 
her princes are become like harts that find no 
pasture, and they are gone without strength, before 

the pursuer All her people sigh; they 

seek bread: they have given their pleasant things 

for meat to relieve the soul The Lord hath 

trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst 
of me : He hath called an assembly against me to 

crush my young men The young and the old 

lie on the ground in the streets : my virgins and my 

young men are fallen by the sword I called 

for my lovers, but they deceived me Behold, 

O Lord, for I am in distress : my bowels are troubled : 
mine heart is turned within me ; for I have griev- 
ously rebelled : abroad the sword bereaveth : at home 
there is as death." 

This is the picture presented by that once beauti- 
ful land to-day. Superadded to poverty and want 



30 THE PEACE-MAKERS 

and exile and wounds, their cities in ashes and their 
homesteads blighted, there can be scarcely a house 
where there is not " one dead," nor a heart that is not 
filled with anguish. Is not this enough % Can you 
still talk of vengeance ] Is it for the blood-bought 
Church to pray that these sufferers may be denied 
the mercy of her Lord? Be it rather her grateful 
office to emulate His pity; to seek out and reclaim 
these wanderers; to heal these fatal antipathies. 
The field is white to the harvest. Even here at the 
North the sweet charity of the gospel has been trod- 
den under foot. Among all sects and parties truth, 
candor, and Christian kindness, have been often sacri- 
ficed to prejudice and intolerance. Relentless passion 
has sundered the sacred bonds of brotherhood, and 
divided friends, families, and churches. The call is 
urgent. Let the Peace-makers go about their work. 
There is not one of them who may not do something 
either North or South, to rectify hurtful misappre- 
hensions, to moderate harsh judgments, to check 
ebullitions of rancor, to extinguish animosities, to 
fan the lingering spark of kindness, to encourage 
friendly offices towards the erring, and to diffuse 
the healing influence of the Gospel. Here is what 
our poor bleeding country needs, the sure and stable 
peace which flows from the cross. " Christ is our 
Peace." He must bestow it, or we may despair of 



THE PEACE-MAKERS. 31 

seeing it. But if He speak the word; if he simply 
breathe into the hearts of his professing people his 
own meek and lowly temper, and send them forth 
through the land to be Peace-makers in deed as 
well as in name ; we may hope, that love will achieve 
yet one more triumph over hate, and merge even 
these bitter national enmities in a sacred and lasting 

concord. 

» 

For those who engage in this heaven-born work, 
there is a "blessing" provided, the grandeur of which 
no tongue may describe. " Blessed are the Peace- 
makers; for they shall be called the children of 
God." Blessed — for the temper that animates them 
carries a blessing with it which is sweeter than the 
plaudits of an admiring world. Blessed — for God 
is the Great Peace-maker; and this Spirit, which 
no one inherits but from Him, proves them to be 
His "children." Blessed — because, "if children, 
then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with 
Christ !" Here is a domain as wide as the universe 
— as lasting as eternity. It belongs to the Peace- 
makers. Choose ye, whether ye will have part in it. 



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